Protective appliances for clothing



R. CLAYFIELD PROTECTIVE APPLIANCES FOR CLOTHING Filed March 6, 1962 FIG. 2

FIG. 6

FIG. 5

INVENTOR. ROY CLAYFIELD ATTORNEYS May 12, 1964 FIG. 1

FIG. 4

United States Patent 3,132,346 PROTECTIVE APPLIANCES FOR CLOTHING Roy Clayfield, Huntington, N.Y., assignor to I. B. Kleinert Rubber Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 6, 1962, Ser. No. 177,386 4 Claims. (Cl. 2-53) This invention relates to improvements in protective appliances in clothing and more particularly it relates to a shield which may be attached .to a dress or other garment easily and smoothly in order to protect the fabric of the garment from the injurious effects of perspiration. Such shields will sometimes hereinafter be referred to, as they are conventionally in the clothing trade, as dress shields.

Dress shields may take various forms and shapes depending upon the position and the type of garment in which they are to be used. For underarm use in a garment, the shield may be crescent, arcuate or angular in shape depending on the shape of the underarm portion of the armhole.

Many types and styles of clothing, such as womens dresses, suits, etc. have varied shaped armholes, such as circular, angular or flat. Additionally, the garment could be sleeveless or cap sleeved. Heretofore, it has been diflicult to properly fit a shield into such garments because of the many variations in the angles and shapes of the underarm section of the armhole and length of the sleeve. A shield having a set angle between its flaps could not be made to mate satisfactorily with a diiferent angle of the underarm portion of the armhole or various lengths of the underarm sleeve. If a shield having a certain angle between its flaps were tacked or pinned onto a dress to conform with a different angle of the underarm portion, the shield necessarily buckled and badly deformed the surface of the garment destroying the smooth, natural fit for the comfort, appearance and protection of the wearer.

Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a versatile dress shield which is comfortable to wear, smoothly fitting a wide variety of different style dresses, and prevents perspiration of the wearer from passing through the shield to the dress material.

A further object is to provide a clothing shield which can be adapted to properly fit a variety of shapes and forms of clothing in an easy, facile manner and which avoids creating bumps and wrinkles in the clothing.

Still another object is to provide a dress shield which is adjustable and capable of smoothly fitting a variety of armholes of various sizes, shapes and forms.

A still further object is to provide a clothing shield that accomplishes all of the above, and yet is inexpensive to fabricate, durable in use, easy to use, adjust and install, and clean and neat in appearance.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan elevational view of a garment shield made in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmental cross sectional view or another pivoting construction;

FIGURE 4 shows diagrammatically a shield made in accordance with this invention mounted in a garment having cap sleeves;

FIGURE 5 shows diagrammatically a shield mounted in a garment having a V shaped armhole; and

3,132,346 Patented May 12, 1964 FIGURE 6 shows diagrammatically a shield mounted in a garment having a flat underarm hole.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2, a dress shield 10, has two flaps 12 and 14 shown having arcuate edges 12a and 14a respectively and flat edges 12!) and 14b. Flaps 12 and 14 are advantageously similar in size and shape and may be made in a variety of shapes and constructions and of various materials, such as cotton or plastic or combinations thereof. The individual materials are aflixed to form an integral flap, such as by stitching along the peripheral edges of flaps 12 and 14, as shown at 18 or they can be joined in any other manner, if so desired.

Flaps 12 and 14 are generally parallel and in partially overlapping relation. Flaps 12 and 14 are disposed relatively so that a portion of one of the flaps extends beyond an edge of the other flap and forms an angle 19 with the intersected edge, which is unobstructed with any material.

Flaps 12 and 14 are pivotally secured at point 20, which is adjacent the vertex of angle 19 and is generally the point of intersection of planes which contain the fiat edges 12b and 14b of each of the flaps and which are at right angles to the planes of the flaps. Preferably the angle subtended between the facing exposed edges 22 and 24 of flaps 12 and 14 respectively is approximately 90.

While tacking was shown to be satisfactory in pivotally joining the flaps 12 and 14 of garment shield 10, other connections may be used, such as a rivet 36 shown in FIGURE 3 pivotally connecting flaps 38 and 40, or pins or other type of fasteners.

The individual flaps may be of various shapes to reduce the amount of overlap of the flaps.

To use shield 10 in a garment with cap sleeves as shown in FIGURE 4, the straight edges of flaps 12 and 14 are aligned with the edge of sleeve 50. The remaining portion of shield 10 is folded into the body of the garment. The pivoted action of the shield automatically adjusts the flaps to the contour of the garment causing them to lay flat without buckling or bunching. Advantageously, the shield is tacked to the seam of the garment. A conventional shield would buckle because of the varying degree it was extended into the sleeve.

Referring to FIGURE 5, shield 10 is used with a V shaped armhole. Each straight edge of each flap is aligned with a corresponding edge of the V. The angle of the shield, 19, adjusts automatically and lays flat abutting the garment to secure maximum protection with no bunching.

FIGURE 6 shows shield 10 used with a garment having flat underarm holes. Flaps 12 and 14 are generally superimposed and partially overlapping and tucked adjacent the edge of the underarm horizontal line. The overlapping flaps are tacked to the side seam of the garment.

It has been found that greater versatility is obtained in mating with the angles of the armholes, if the angle subtended between the exposed edges of the flaps is approximately 90.

Since many diifering structures may be readily devised by those skilled in the art Without departing from the scope of the invention, it is understood that the foregoing description is illustrative only, the scope of the invention being defined solely by the claims granted.

Although a particular structure has been described, it should be understood that the invention should not be limited to the particular embodiments of the invention shown by way of illustration, but rather to the scope of the invention covered by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable garment shield comprising a pair of flaps contained in generally parallel planes, each of said flaps being formed of a plurality of layers of material and joined along their peripheral edges, said flaps being in partially overlapping relation and forming a nonobstructed angle between corresponding facing edges, said angle being about 90, and means rotatably joining said fiaps adjacent the vertex of said angle and on their peripheral edges for rotating said flaps in said parallel planes.

2. A garment shield comprising a first flap, a second flap contained in a plane substantially parallel to said first flap, said second flap in partially overlapping relation to said first flap and having a portion extending beyond an edge of said first flap and forming an unobstructed angle with an edge of said first flap, said angle being substantially 90, and means mounted on said first flap and second flap adjacent said 90 angle for providing relative rotational movement of said flaps in said parallel planes, said means having a longitudinal axis generally perpendicular to said plane.

3. A garment shield comprising a pair of partially overlapping parallel flaps, facing edges of the non-overlapping portions of said flaps subtending a generally 90 angle, and means rotatably mounting said fiaps about a point adjacent the vertex of said angle.

4. A garment shield comprising a pair of substantially identical flaps contained in parallel planes, said flaps being partially overlapping and forming a non-obstructed angle between facing edges, and means rotatably joining said flaps about an axis adjacent the vertex of said angle and at right angles to said planes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 885,530 Sachsenroder Apr. 21, 1908 1,730,762 Furst Oct. 8, 1929 2,263,838 Ermisch Nov. 25, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 23,829 Great Britain 1912 

1. AN ADJUSTABLE GARMENT SHIELD COMPRISING A PAIR OF FLAPS CONTAINED IN GENERALLY PARALLEL PLANES, EACH OF SAID FLAPS BEING FORMED OF A PLURALITY OF LAYERS OF MATERIAL AND JOINED ALONG THEIR PERIPHERAL EDGES, SAID FLAPS BEING IN PARTIALLY OVERLAPPING RELATION AND FORMING A NONOBSTRUCTED ANGLE BETWEEN CORRESPONDING FACING EDGES, SAID ANGLE BEING ABOUT 90* AND MEANS ROTATABLY JOINING SAID FLAPS ADJACENT THE VERTEX OF SAID ANGLE AND ON THEIR PERIPHERAL EDGES FOR ROTATING SAID FLAPS IN SAID PARALLEL PLANES. 